A Good Day To Die
by Morganperidot
Summary: Cuddy brings House the case of Jack Bauer. This includes spoilers for season 7 of 24, no spoilers for House.


Disclaimer: The characters and situations from House and 24 belong to their owners. No infringement on those rights is intended. This story is for entertainment only.

A Good Day To Die

By Morganperidot

Gregory House tossed the manila folder holding the patient file on his desk and leaned back in his chair. He and his boss, Lisa Cuddy, were in his office in Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. "So let me be sure I understand this," he said. Lisa Cuddy rolled her eyes. She recognized the condescending tone all too well; she was very familiar with it after so many years of hearing it every single workday…and sometimes on nonworkdays. It was House's way of saying I know more than you'll ever know, and by the way you're an idiot. Cuddy was used to it. She had learned not to take it personally, as House thought that about everyone. "The patient has already had a fatal infection diagnosed by let's say competent professionals at the CDC," House continued. "There's no chance of mistake and no cure. Therefore you brought this to me as a case for a diagnostician."

"I'm asking you to take a look at this," Cuddy said.

"Why would I do that?" House asked. "Last time I looked I wasn't performing miracles here. I leave that to the guys in the robes over in the Middle East."

"You don't have a case right now, and your team is on vacation," Cuddy said.

"There's no mystery in this," House said. He studied her for a moment, and Cuddy reflected silently on how his blue button-down shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. If he weren't such a jerk she might have considered saying something nice to him. "What is this about?" House asked. "What does this patient mean to you?"

"What makes you think…" House picked up the folder and held it over the trashcan at the side of his desk. "Is it possible for you to not act like an adolescent?" Cuddy asked.

"Sure, sometimes I can act like a six-year-old," House said. "Make me interested or fatal infection boy goes bye-bye."

"My cousin asked for help with this," Cuddy said. "She thought I might know someone who could do something."

"Who is this guy to her?" House asked.

"A colleague," Cuddy said.

House leaned back in his chair again with the folder in his hand. He stared at the ceiling. "I'm guessing you're not 'kissing cousins', and I've never heard of you even having a cousin," he said. "No one calls out of the blue about a colleague."

"So, what if he's more to her than just a colleague?" Cuddy said. "You've never had a soft spot for romance. Actually, I couldn't imagine you having a soft spot for anyone or anything."

House looked over at her. "Just Vicodin and big breasts," he said.

"So…"

"What's in it for me?" House asked.

Cuddy put her hands on his desk and leaned forward so House could see into her red blouse. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Dinner," House said.

Cuddy had expected another crude joke, and his direct request surprised her. "What?" she said.

"It's pretty self-explanatory," House said.

"You want to have dinner with me?" Cuddy said. "Like…a date?"

"Is that a yes?" House asked.

"You'll look at this case?" Cuddy said.

"I'll look at this file and the patient if he's here," House said. "But I don't think I'll be raising the dead anytime soon."

"Then yes," Cuddy said. She turned and walked to the door.

"One more thing," House said.

Of course, Cuddy thought. She turned and looked back at him and saw the smirk on his face. "You aren't getting any," Cuddy said.

"I was going to say, you're paying," House said.

Cuddy smiled. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" she said.

* * * * * * * * * *

Renee Walker sat in a chair beside Jack Bauer's hospital bed looking at him. He was so still; it just wasn't like him. She didn't think she could have ever imagined him staying in one place for so long. But that was before he was exposed to the bioweapon and got sick from the accelerated strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that weapon contained. Now he was in a coma that would soon lead to the end of his life. Renee felt tears prick the backs of her eyes, but she held them back. All wasn't lost yet, she told herself, not until he drew his last breath. She had taken this last-ditch grab at hope, and she wasn't going to let go of it until it was well and truly dashed.

"Renee?"

Renee turned and saw Lisa Cuddy who was her mother's brother's oldest daughter and the Dean of Medicine of the hospital. Renee stood and walked over to her, and they embraced briefly. Renee hadn't Lisa in more than 20 years, and the fact that Lisa had even taken her call and been sympathetic to the situation had amazed her. That she had offered to try to get the world-renowned Dr. Gregory House to consider looking at Jack had been far more than Renee had expected.

"I just spoke with Dr. House," Cuddy said. "He'll take a look at Mr. Bauer, but…"

"Lisa, thank you so much," Renee said. "I owe you big."

"No, you don't," Cuddy said, "because there's more to this. First, Dr. House isn't optimistic about Mr. Bauer's condition…"

"But he'll give it a serious look?" Renee asked.

"Yes," Cuddy said, and she seemed to mean it. "The other thing is that he is a genius and probably the best that there is at what he does, but he's also an insensitive jerk. Try not to be shocked by anything he says or does."

Renee was a bit surprised by this, but she agreed. "OK," she said. "When can he see Jack?"

"No time like the present," a man with a cane said, walking into the room. "Thanks for the preshow, Dr. Cuddy, I'll take it from here."

"Renee, this is Dr. Gregory House," Cuddy said. "House, this is FBI agent Renee Walker."

"Ah, a Fed," House said. He poked at Jack with his cane. "Is your not-long-for-this-world boyfriend one too?"

Renee saw Cuddy roll her eyes and walk out of the room. "No, and he's not my boyfriend," she said, turning back to House. "Jack used to be a federal agent but…"

House scrunched up his face. "Not really that interested," he said.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Renee asked.

"Well, I would pray for his eternal soul, but I don't believe in God or the soul," House said. He walked close to the bed and looked at Jack.

"Is this some big joke to you?" Renee asked. "A man is going to die. A good man."

"The good ones die just like the bad ones," House said. He turned to her. "Your boyfriend has an hour to live at most," he said. "You'd be better off accepting it than looking for a miracle."

"He's not my boyfriend," Renee said. "If you don't have anything to say other than lame sarcasm and condescending BS, you can get your useless butt the hell out of here."

"Yeah, now I see the family resemblance," House said.

"Just get out," Renee said.

"In a minute," House said. He turned back toward Jack and looked at his face, then pulled back the sheet and examined his arms and chest. "I have an idea," he said. "Most likely it won't work and just be a waste of time and money." He looked at Renee, and for the first time since he came in the room she saw the brilliance of his intelligence shining in his eyes.

"Anything is better than nothing," Renee said. "Do it."

"We'll see if your cousin agrees," House said.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Are you out of your mind?" Cuddy said.

She and House were in her office; he had just told her his idea, and of all the ridiculous ideas he'd had over the years, this was one of most insane. "Most likely," House said. "But you're still paying for dinner."

"We do not kill patients in this hospital," Cuddy said.

"I beg to differ," House said. "We pretty much do every day."

"Not on purpose!" Cuddy said.

"It's a proven method for…"

"It showed questionable success in two patients in an uncontrolled trial in a third-world country with the results published in a tenth-rate medical journal in Azerbaijani, which you can't even read!" Cuddy said.

"You came to me because you knew I would come up with something like this," House said seriously. "This man is going to die anyway."

"So what, we should just kill him and get it over with?" Cuddy said.

"I'm sure someone else could use the bed," House said.

Cuddy shook her head. "I shouldn't have expected anything from you," she said. "Sometimes I just…"

"I think this will work," House said.

"Right," Cuddy said. "You inject him with a lethal mixture that is going to flat line him and that is somehow going to cure a fatal infection."

"Yes," House said.

"You cannot possibly believe that, House," Cuddy said.

"If it worked in two people out of ten in Azerbaijan, it can work in one man here," House said.

"And he's going to die anyway so what's the difference if it doesn't work, right?" Cuddy said.

"The difference is that I'll buy dinner," House said.

"If this kills him," Cuddy said. She actually considered it seriously for a moment, because House never offered to pay for anything. So there really was the possibility that he believed that this might work. "If I allow this, you are going to be the one administering the dose and doing the resuscitation," she said. "I don't want another doctor's career going down the tubes for this."

"Deal," House said.

"Get out of here," Cuddy said, mortified that she had agreed to this…and hoping against all evidence to the contrary that it might possibly turn out OK.

* * * * * * * * * *

Renee stood outside the room watching the nurses set up a crash cart and IV stand with some bag of medicine hanging off a hook. Her heart was pounding although she tried to tell herself that this wasn't going to work. Jack was gone whether or not the plug had been officially pulled yet. But she was still grateful that someone was willing to go through the motions of trying to save his life.

And part of her, a tiny part, hoped that there was still a way to do that.

House walked by her into the room, a big needle filled with some clear liquid in the hand that wasn't holding his cane. Renee's natural instinct was to leave and come back when it was all over. She didn't want to see how this was going to end, especially if it was with the death of this man she admired. It terrified her, and yet she stayed.

House walked over next to the crash cart on the near side of the bed and delivered the injection quickly and smoothly without hesitation. Renee held her breath and waited. She couldn't see House's face, but she sensed a surprisingly serious vibe from him.

Suddenly Jack's body arched on the bed and then he went into convulsions. Renee took an involuntary step forward but stopped herself, fully aware that there was nothing she could do to help him. When Jack was finally still again the room was silent except for the loud monotonous tone of the heart monitor registering one flat horizontal line across the screen. Renee realized she was trembling, but House just stood there completely still for several seconds before he finally picked up the paddles for shocking Jack's heart back into rhythm. The first time he applied them, Renee jumped; there was no change on the heart monitor. The second time, again, there was nothing but that screeching flat line. Renee turned away, and she saw Lisa Cuddy standing there watching as well, the same combination of anticipation and dread on her face that Renee felt in herself. Behind her Renee heard the third application of the paddles, and then there was something else…the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. Renee turned back and watched as House inserted the IV tubing into Jack's hand, picked up his cane, and walked out of the room.

"This drug will flush his system of the toxins," House said. Renee saw him glance past her at Cuddy. "After that he'll be tested for residue of the infection." He took a few steps and stopped, then turned and looked at Renee. "If he lives that long," House added.

* * * * * * * * * *

Cuddy found House in his office bouncing a ball off one of the walls. "It seems to be working so far," she said.

"Is he conscious?" House asked, still tossing the ball.

"Not yet, but it looks like the infection is out of his system," Cuddy said. She watched him for several seconds before she added, "Did you think it would work?"

"Of course not," House said. "It's ridiculous." He stopped bouncing the ball. "Do you think I have a shot with your cousin?" he asked.

Cuddy smiled. "No," she said.

"Oh well," House said, flopping down on his chair. "Redheads are hot."

"Thank you, House," Cuddy said.

"If he doesn't wake up the rest of this is just BS," House said.

Cuddy turned and walked to the doorway, then turned back. "I'll pick you up at 8," she said. "Don't dress like a bum." House raised an eyebrow. "Whatever it is, for once don't say it," Cuddy said.

House smiled.

* * * * * * * * * *

Renee stood by Jack's bed and watched him, trying to will him to open his eyes. It hadn't happened yet; he was as still as he had been before all the craziness happened. But he was cured, and he should be coming out of it…

Jack's eyelids fluttered and then rose, and she was relieved to see his eyes. "Hey," he said. Renee wiped away a tear that had started sliding down from her right eye. "What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"Nothing," Renee said. "You're going to be all right."

"The infection…"

"Cured," Renee said. "It's a long story; I'll tell you later. Just rest. You have a long day ahead of you."

"Nothing new about that," Jack said.


End file.
